The present invention relates to the field of novelty item and product sample cards, and, more particularly, to an improved card having one or more novelty items, product samples, or other items of value, contained therein in a secure and visible manner along with a video and/or audio cassette or compact disk.
In the past, numerous cards, such as greeting or special occasion cards, have been available in a variety of shapes and sizes and with a variety of different decorative images, indicia and/or messages thereon. Such cards are often purchased along with a separate gift item to be presented to the recipient of the gift as a complement to the gift. A variety of cards have also been made with means therein for holding a toy, novelty or gift item, such as a piece of candy or a dog biscuit, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,152,865 and 4,203,516. Cards have also been constructed in the past in a manner which enables an audio cassette to be contained therein, as evidenced by U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,780. Other cards have been distributed by way of bulk mailings soliciting new customers for computer-related services, or describing a particular manufacturer""s goods or services, which cards are packaged with a compact disk and are imprinted with a variety of advertising and related materials, and also at times are packaged with various informational inserts or brochures providing additional detail relating to such goods or services. Prior art cards, however, have not heretofore provided a card construction and configuration which enables an item of value or perceived value to be packaged therein in a secure, visible and compact manner, along with a video and/or audio cassette or compact disk.
Thus, a need exists for an improved card which provides a means for securely and decoratively mounting a novelty item, product sample or the like therein, while also providing a carrier for an audio and/or video cassette or compact disk.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved card which contains one or more items of value and a video cassette, audio cassette, or compact disk (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD, and the like).
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved card which is particularly adapted for securely containing one or more novelty items, product samples or the like.
Another object of the instant invention is to provide an improved card which enables one or more novelty items, product samples or the like to be displayed thereon in a decorative and readily visible manner, while also preventing or deterring removal of the novelty items, product samples or the like by an unauthorized person at the point of purchase for the card or elsewhere.
Yet another object of the instant invention is to provide an improved card containing both a video tape and one or more novelty items, product samples or the like which is compact in size and can easily and inexpensively be manufactured.
A more specific object of the instant invention is to provide an improved card which takes advantage of the size and shape of a VHS video cassette contained within the card for displaying one or more novelty items, product samples or the like.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved card which constitutes one or more gifts or product giveaways as well as a card.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved card which can be easily and inexpensively adapted to contain either a standard video or audio cassette tape and one or more relatively small novelty items, product samples, or other relatively small items of value.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved card which contains one or more items of value and a compact disk (CD).
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved card which can contain a variety of relatively small novelty items, product samples, or other items of value, and which promotes purchasers to collect a plurality of the cards.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved card which is particularly suited for containing one or more novelty items or product samples and a variety of interesting, educational, or advertising information relating to such novelty item or product sample.
Yet a further object of the invention is to provide in improved card which securely maintains one or more novelty items, product samples, or other items of value in one or more particular visible locations on the card during shipping and handling of the card.
Still yet another object of the instant invention is to provide in improved card which securely maintains both a CD and one or more novelty items or product samples within the card assembly, but which provides for easy removal of both the CD and the novelty items or product samples from the card.
These and other objects and advantages are achieved by the present invention, which provides a card device including a front card portion and a back card portion hinged together in a manner which enables the card to be opened and closed. The back card portion includes spaced front, rear and side panels which define an interior space therebetween. In one embodiment, the card further includes a tape cartridge, such as a VHS video or audio cassette tape, having a drive gear defining an open recess in the tape cartridge, and one or more novelty item or product sample carrier devices including a novelty item or product sample carrier portion containing one or more novelty items or product samples. The carrier devices and the tape cartridge are positioned in nested relation within the interior space of the back card portion such that the carrier portions are received within the open recesses in the tape cartridge.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the rear panel or front panel of the back card portion includes cut-out portions therein for enabling the novelty items or product samples to be seen therethrough.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the novelty item is one or more gemstones, and preferably a birthstone, and the tape cartridge includes information relating to the gemstone or birthstone.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the novelty items are one or more product samples, such as a small consumable food, dietary supplement, or pharmaceutical product, and the tape cartridge includes advertising and educational information relating to such product samples.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the carrier devices include transparent material defining a window which enables the novelty items or product samples to be seen therethrough, and further wherein the windows are aligned with the cut-out portions in the card.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, the carrier devices include a first layer of material with a hole cut therein, transparent material positioned over the hole, and a backing device for holding the novelty items or product samples in a predetermined position against the transparent material.
In accordance with still another aspect of the invention, the backing device is made of a compressible material which enables the backing device to compress around the novelty items or product samples to hold such items in a stable position in the card device.
In accordance with an alternative embodiment, the invention provides a card device including a front card portion and a back card portion having an interior space, and an insert device having a first recessed portion, with an audio cassette tape received therein, and a second recessed portion. The card device further includes a novelty item or product sample carrier device including a carrier portion containing one or more novelty items or product samples. The carrier device and the insert device are positioned in nested relation within the interior space such that the carrier portion is received within the second recess in the insert device.
An improved card structure having a novelty item, product sample, or other item of value, contained therein in a secure and visible manner along with a video and/or audio cassette or compact disk is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,194 issued to the inventor herein on Sep. 21, 1999, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
In accordance with yet another alternative embodiment of the instant invention, the invention provides a card device including a front card portion and a back card portion hinged together in a manner which enables the card to be opened and closed and which defines a card interior therebetween. A compact disk carrier is mounted within the card interior and has a central raised portion on a front side thereof which defines a first open recess in the back side thereof, and has an edgewise raised portion along an interior edge thereof which defines a second open recess in the back side thereof. The card device further includes a compact disk positioned on the front side of the disk carrier such that the central hole in the compact disk receives the raised portion on the front side thereof. The card device further includes one or more novelty item or product sample carrier devices including a carrier portion containing one or more novelty items or product samples. The carrier devices and the compact disk carrier are positioned in nested relation within the interior space of the card, such that the carrier portions are received within the first and second open recesses in the back side of the compact disk carrier. The compact disk preferably includes audio and/or video information relating to the novelty item or product sample.
In accordance with a further aspect of this alternative embodiment of the invention, the compact disk carrier is hingedly mounted at one end thereof to the back card portion, with the opposite end of the disk carrier being removably held within the back card portion through use of a detent integrally formed on an exterior sidewall of the disk carrier. Such assembly allows a user to open the card by pivoting the front card portion with respect to the back card portion to reveal the disk carrier held inside the card, and in turn to readily pivot the disk carrier with respect to the back card portion to reveal the novelty items or product samples positioned between the disc carrier and the back card portion, thus easing the task of removing such novelty items or product samples from the card assembly without requiring the full removal of the disk carrier.
In accordance with yet another aspect of this alternative embodiment of the invention, the card device includes a conventional transparent compact disk case which defines the front card portion and the back card portion. The card device further includes sheet material with indicia for the card inserted on the inside of the front and back card portions of the card.
In accordance with still another aspect of this embodiment of the invention, the sheet material inserted in the back card portion includes one or more cut-out portions at locations therein which correspond to the locations of the novelty items or product samples, thereby enabling the novelty items or product samples to be seen through the back of the card device.